The non-instructed advocacy course is for anyone who wants to find out more about providing advocacy when a person lacks capacity to instruct the advocate. Some people may benefit from advocacy involvement but may not be able to access the advocacy for themselves or may find it difficult  to tell the advocate what they want. Advocates in this situation can support the person to take part in any decisions as far as they are able to, bringing an independent perspective, and can ask questions ensuring that  decisions take into account the unique perspective of the person.

Many advocates say to us that they have attended NIA training but feel it didn’t equip them properly for the role. Our course is very practical and ensures that participants leave knowing how they will carry out non-instructed advocacy with the people they support. We have extensive experience in providing NIA ourselves and participants say that the experiences we share give a valuable insight into providing this type of advocacy. The course covers:

• Definition and principles of non-instructed advocacy
• Differences between instructed and non-instructed advocacy
• The Mental Capacity Act
• Capacity to make a decision
• Practical strategies for information gathering
• Supported decision making
• NIA approaches
• Case studies

This course can be provided in-house. Please contact us for costs. This is what people say who have attended this course:

“feel more confident”

“really useful and thought provoking”

“the trainer was very good in explaining cases thoroughly, she knows what she’s talking about”

“great to discuss this complex area with such a competent & coherent trainer – very refreshing!”

What did you find most useful?  “practical tips section & signposting to communication guides”

“I got and gained a lot from it” “lots of resources, highlighted some things I hadn’t previously considered”